Thinking of a disc format and OS reinstall

Printable View

11-20-2009, 09:35 PM
Boogieman

Thinking of a disc format and OS reinstall

I am thinking i would like to format my drive and reinstall XP pro but ive never done that
I have a dell E521 and it came with an OEM reinstall disc
Can someone tell me if it will have all the hardware drivers that the dell needs (if i understand right dell has some required stuff for their proprietary hardware)
And also if i can tweak the os and get rid of all the extra shit on it that comes from dell that i dont need or do i need to get a retail version of XP

All this is really not necessary my system seems to run ok i just have alot of crap on it that i dont need some i cant seem to get rid of and some i just dont even know what it is its just there so i cant delete it because im not sure if the dell might be dependent on it

I just would like to start fresh with just the os WoW and the multiboxing software i use and firefox the rest i really could care less about and would like it gone I get alot of start up processes running like right now there are 43 processes running and i know what like 5 of them are and when i kill them they come right back without a restart just right back most of them in less than 10 seconds
11-20-2009, 10:11 PM
Ualaa

If you got the disk from Dell, and the computer is from Dell without hardware modifications, the disk should reset your computer to what it was at the time of purchase.

I'd recommend checking the FAQ or Support section of their site to verify this. Or send them an email and ask.
11-20-2009, 10:52 PM
Fursphere

If you use the disk from Dell, its going to kill everything on your computer and restart from "factory defaults, like Ualaa said.

Make sure you backup what you want to keep.
11-21-2009, 12:18 AM
Boogieman

That's the plan I'll reinstall wow and my browser and multibox software and that's all I need
11-21-2009, 01:56 AM
Ualaa

I would back up your WTF folder, unless you want to reset all of your addons, window positions etc.
11-21-2009, 02:38 AM
Boogieman

Yes i plan to back that up also does anyone know if i can download Firefox to disc and load it from there i would like to never use IE after the reload and is there a way to backup my Firefox settings and bookmarks so i don't have to go through the time to fix what I've put together over the past year of using Firefox
11-21-2009, 03:36 AM
Ualaa

If you go... Bookmarks... Organize Bookmarks... Import and Back Up....
You can back up your bookmarks from there.

The version of Firefox I have downloaded cannot import bookmarks.
But running the exe has it want to update the version.
And the updated version can import my saved bookmarks.
Maybe a more up to date download can import immediately.
11-21-2009, 04:42 AM
Fizzler

Xmarks for Firefox bookmark FTW
11-21-2009, 05:05 AM
Ughmahedhurtz

Do NOT use a tool to backup firefox unless you're computer-illiterate.

http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/...ur+information
11-24-2009, 12:26 AM
Fursphere

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ughmahedhurtz

Do NOT use a tool to backup firefox unless you're computer-illiterate.

http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/...ur+information

Backups r hard!
11-25-2009, 02:24 PM
Fizzler

Why would you not use Xmarks to back up your bookmarks? It is an incredibly useful addon. I have 7 PC's that I consistently log into it is nice to have the ability to sync the bookmarks and create profiles to separate personal from work bookmarks.

Granted it does not save your settings but it does a bang of job with Bookmarks.